$2,300-$2,500 video/photo/gaming new system build

[myobb]

Please comment and offer pro/cons/alternatives to the system I'm planing to buy. When responding please explain your reasoning... thanks in advance your your input/help.

Approximate Purchase Date:
In the next two weeks from the date of this posting

Budget Range:
$2,300 - $2,500 (US)

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
This computer will be used for heavy video and photo editing, and some gaming. Followed by internet and MS Office.

CPU: Intel i7-3770K

MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V-DELUXE

GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD7870

RAM: Corsair DDR3/1600 Vengeance 4x4GB Dimms

COOLER: Corsair H100

POWER: Corsair TX750M

CASE: Corsair Carbide 500R

OPTICAL DRIVE: Samsung DVD-Writer Optical Drives 14700365 SHB123L/RSBP and Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium $250.00

SSD: primary partition drive Mushkin Chronos 240 GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s and SSD caching of data drive OCZ 60GB Agility 3 SATA cashe drive for the data drive

HHD: Western Digital Caviar Green 2 TB data drive

MONITOR: ASUS PA246Q

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, , speakers,

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Buy

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: The best performance value part for the money

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: Open to suggestions

 

[2fast4thetown_down]

Get this


http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadhailstorm.asp?id=676381

 

[JackNaylorPE]

You have chosen very well

MoBo / CPU - excellent choice w/ HT for your intended usage ... if going for big OC's tho (> 4.6 Ghz) , I'd use the 2700k for the lower temps.

GFX - 7870 is under matched with rest of the components

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite: Hard Reset, COD-MW2, Far Cry 2, ANNO 1404, Metro 2033, ANNO 2070, BFBC2, BF3, Crysis 2, AvP, Lost Planet 2. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:

Card - Cost ( Single / 2-way SLI /CF ) $ / Frame - $ / Frame SLI/CF
GTX 680 - $ 500 ( 989 / 1578 ) $ 0.51 - $ 0.63
680 DCII Cu TOP - $ 520 ( 1077 / NA ) $ 0.48 - ERR
GTX 670 - $ 400 ( 917 / 1539 ) $ 0.44 - $ 0.52
670 DCII Cu TOP - $ 430 ( 999 / 1679 ) $ 0.43 - $ 0.51
7970 - $ 480 ( 872 / NA ) $ 0.55 - ERR
7970 DCII Cu - $ 580 ( 924 / NA ) $ 0.63 - ERR
7950 - $ 400 ( 746 / NA ) $ 0.54 - ERR
7870 - $ 360 ( 701 / NA ) $ 0.51 - ERR
7850 - $ 260 ( 596 / NA ) $ 0.44 - ERR
7770 - $ 150 ( 375 / NA ) $ 0.40 - ERR
7750 - $ 110 ( 291 / NA ) $ 0.38 - ERR

In the table above for example, the Asus 670 Cu DCII TOP costs $430 each and gets 999 fps in single card configuration at a cost of $0.43 per frame and 1679 in SLI at a cost of $0.51 per frame. The AMD cards w/ NA did not complete all games in the test suite. This should be resolved in an upcoming driver fix. The nVidia card w/ NA was not tested in SLI.

RAM - I'd think about 2 x 8 GB to leave room for expandability .... make sure it's low profile.

Cooler - On high, the H100 will get ya maybe 1/4 degree cooler than the Phanteks .... I'd need a lot more than 1/4 degree, to add the risk of water in an electronic box .... and it's damn noisy when getting that 1/4 degree
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/phanteks_ph_tc14pe_cpu_cooler_review,14.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709001

PSU - If looking for more than moderate OC's, I'd move up to the HX series ..... 750 watter for twin 670's ..... 850 nwatts if ya overclocking them. The HX is $17 more after 10% off promo and $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

SSD - Sold choice.... Chronos Deluxe has no competition ...... highest performance, longest life and ridiculous price.
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4328/mushkin_chronos_deluxe_120gb_solid_state_drive_review/index.html

HD - My one real beef.....Green = slow. With video editing involved, I'd want the Barracuda XT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=708&Itemid=60&limit=1&limitstart=10

For a hard drive, the Barracuda XT series offers the best performance available from a 7200 RPM mechanical storage device.

Optical - Suggest ya add BR read capability
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

If any of ya video stuff uses CUDA ....

http://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-gpus

GeForce GTX 690 3.0
GeForce GTX 680 3.0
GeForce GTX 670 3.0
GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2.1

http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/PremiereCS5.htm

 

[g-unit1111]

That all looks like a good build but ditch the H100 and go with a D14 or a real liquid radiator like the Swiftech Edge. With liquid cooling either get a real block or not at all. Air is always safer than a closed loop like the H100.

 

[pdxalex]

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium $250.00

I imagine you'll be sticking with 64bit anyway... just get the OEM version.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

If you don't have one already, spend the saved $150 on a USB3 external backup drive.

 

[triplej]

How about the i5-3570k, gtx 670, 8 gb memory, and a 650 watt power supply, so that you'll have enough money to buy a $500-1000 IPS monitor to do photo editing in 1440p ? Unless you know you need the 3770k or 16 GB memory that seems like overkill to me for most people.